Nhl_screws_up
We were wrong.  So was CSN, the Hockey Hall of Fame, and the Flyers.

Last week we told you about a picture of the Prince of Wales trophy taken at a Blackhawks convention.  The picture showed the trophy, which is awarded to the winner of the Eastern Conference (hint: Flyers), declaring the Washington Capitals its 2010 recipient.

Moments later I was emailed by the Flyers.  They told me it was a fake, saying they had seen the trophy and it contained no such error.  We updated our post.  Three hours later, CSN posted the exact same story, only they cited the Hockey Hall of Fame.  The HOF said the trophy hadn't even been engraved yet.  Case close- some dude with photoshop skills trying to start an uproar.

Not so fast.

Last night, Yahoo Sports reported that the photo was indeed real and that there was indeed a mistake on the trophy and that (zoiks Scoob!) there's two trophies.

Yep, that's right.  A real one and a replica.  The Hall of Fame said their initial spokesperson was confused because the trophy that was at the Hall of Fame (a stand in when the real one travels) was not engraved yet.  But the one sent to Chicago for the convention was engraved- incorrectly.  They said the engraver likely mistook the Prince of Wales trophy for the President's Trophy (most points in the NHL), which was to be awarded to the Capitials.

That's an honest enough mistake.  The real story here is that there are two trophies.  When you go to a Hall of Fame, you would expect to see the real thing, no?  Oh well.  Either way, the trophy(ies?) are fixed, the Flyers still won the Eastern Conference, and Jeff Carter can continue to impress the ladies with proof that he did nothing to help his team win a fake trophy.

If all of this winds up uncovering there are two Stanley Cups also, I'm going to need years of therapy.

UPDATE:  There are three Stanley Cups.  Who knows a good doc?  Read below per Wikipedia.

There are actually three Stanley Cups: the original bowl, the authenticated Cup, and the replica at the Hall of Fame. The original bowl, purchased by Lord Stanley and physically awarded to the champion for the first 71 years of competition, is currently displayed at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto, Ontario.
The authenticated version or "Presentation Cup" was created in 1963 by Montreal silversmith Carl Petersen. It is authenticated by the seal of the Hockey Hall of Fame on the bottom, which can be seen when winning players lift the Cup over their heads, and it is the one currently awarded to the champions of the playoffs and used for promotions.[41] This version was made in secret, and its production was only revealed three years later.[52]The replica trophy, called the "Replica Cup", was created in 1993 by Montreal silversmith Louise St. Jacques to be used as a stand-in at the Hockey Hall of Fame whenever the Presentation Cup is not available for display.[52] There are very few differences between the authenticated version and the replica version. The surest way to identify one version from the other is to check the engraving for the 1984 Stanley Cup winning Edmonton Oilers. The authenticated version has x's engraved over Basil Pocklington's name whereas his name is completely missing from the replica version.